The issue of cash spending has been a talking point for the Patriots in recent years in particular, but the departure of Bill Belichick and the cap situation the team is in could bring about a change. When speaking about the matter, owner Robert Kraft pushed back on criticism of the team’s financial approach while stating money will not be an issue in the coming offseason. 
“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending,” Kraft said, via Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe. “Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true.”
New England ranked 31st in the league with respect to cash (as opposed to salary cap) spending in 2023, continuing a trend in terms of Belichick’s roster management preferences as de facto general manager. The Patriots do not have a recent track record of retaining many homegrown players on second contracts, relying heavily on players on their rookie deals and low-cost veterans. Things could change moving forward with Eliot Wolf now in charge of roster decisions, but Kraft defended the approach Belichick employed for many years.
“Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value,” Kraft added. “He ran a tight ship. They say we’ve been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true, but we had a pretty good record. And we won three Super Bowls. But our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted.”
The issue of finances was a public talking point this summer between Belichick and Kraft in advance of the season in which their storied working relationship ultimately came to an end. New head coach Jerod Mayo will oversee the team’s transition, one which will likely include a starting quarterback being added either in free agency or the draft. The Patriots have the No. 3 selection as well as the third-most cap space in the league at the moment, so their new brain trust will have considerable flexibility in attempting to rebound from the struggles of the post-Tom Brady era.
‘…The Patriots do not have a recent track record of retaining many homegrown players on second contracts…’ That’s because Bill drafted terrible players.
It’s about the quarterback
Sure is. Bill hasn’t drafted decent one besides Tom and that was a 6th round pick. He had two 1st round QB’s during his time in Cleveland as well.
Cassel, Garoppolo, and Brissett combined for 14-6 under Belichick. Keep Garoppolo instead of Brady 2018 onward and the Patriots would have won another Superbowl and be in better shape now than they are.
They are last in the league in cash spending for the last decade… that’s all because of BB?
Kraft is full of it, am so tired of all this BS. But we knew it was coming at some point.
Kraft is just another rich guy who can not take ANY responsibility… we defended his dumb acting video after MK passed, the rub and tug incident but just shut up already. No one wins a media war but the media.
Worst part is Kraft’s interferences are why the Patriots didn’t have a succession plan and why they wasted three seasons with Mac Jones
Yep. Belichick was making faces at Mac Jones’ pro day, but people really think that he wanted that guy. He wanted to transition to Garoppolo like Walsh did with Young from Montana. Kraft vetoed it, and then blamed the guy for not grooming a backup to be the next Brady. Insanity.
The rot had set in come 2022 but few in the media cared. This thing about “cash spending” is more spin from Foxboro.
BTW, Bill O’Brien has landed on his feet as the new coach at Boston College.
Ironic that Kraft suddenly is taking a page out of John Henry’s playbook and payroll is not competitive with others. Patriots probably go backwards next year
The brass at 1 Patriot Place does not take its cues from baseball.
Equating one sport with another is something done by dumb sports fans raised on tabloids and talk radio (and yes, Boston does have a tabloid).
Easy there. I did not read that as equation. I don’t know why you insist on calling other members here dumb sports fans, or implying that they are, but it’s not helpful, Chucky.
@Ak185: Chucky is a Jets fan. Cut him some slack for being disgruntled. He hasn’t seen a winner in 55 years.
Payroll never equals success.
Kraft is talking about cash that is ‘on-the-record’. Plenty was being spent on the coaching staff and on back door deals that appeared on paper as “team-friendly” player contracts.
Did he pay cash for his “massage”
Why are they or any team supposed to spend more? That’s not how to build championship rosters. Shiny toys never make teams better, it’s quarterback, coaching, and situational awareness and execution. Don’t collect talent, build an actual team.
I’ve never understood how the amount spent is relevant in a sport with a salary cal, to be honest. Of course, there are times to lure in free agents when you need them, or to pay out on a big contract when one of your cogs wants to walk, but everybody is locked in to the same budget every year. In baseball, one can spend what one wants. In football, the issue isn’t so much how much you spend, but how you divide it up.
Now, there are spendthrift owners or managers who probably want to keep numbers down (like Ted Thompson back in the day, for example), but I don’t think that the owners themselves get much out of cutting down roster spending. Spending on other things, like the stadium or coaching or what not definitely affects their bottom line, but I don’t think that the cap spending does. I want to be very clear-I’m not saying that Kraft is telling the truth here entirely, just that it probably didn’t personally save much money for him. However, he certainly could have told-or implied-that he liked it when Belichick spent less. Basically, I don’t think that it benefits Kraft or any other owner very much, but that doesn’t mean that he or they don’t do it.
More often than not the QB is the shiny new toy. Though a bargain while under a rookie contract, this toy will eventually command a major share of the cap allowance if he is any good. The prospects of being a winning franchise without a quality QB are not good but then not all owners are committed to winning. An equal revenue share is had by all owners regardless of the product they put on the field…and that is the root problem.
No. The shiny toys are receivers and running backs. Teams and fans forever lie to themselves about “you have to surround the quarterback with weapons.” Weapons don’t exist. Revenue sharing is not a problem
So is Kraft saying the Patsies are going Full Trottle this offseason, taking a page from Tom Werner’s book and we know how well that is working out got the Red Sox.
Kraft needs to fully empower the coach instead of meddle like he started doing forcing Garoppolo out